Innersole for arch-supporting shoes



W. A. KNIFE. INNERSOLE FOR ARCH SUPPORTING SHO'ES.

APPLICATION FILED IuLY 8,'192I.

IIIeIiIeIIAug.' 8,5 w22,

Aram cerros.

WILLIAM A. KNJPE, OIF' HAVERHILL, vMASSACH'USI-IF'AT'I'S.v

Specification of Letters Patent.

INNERSOLE FOR ARCH-SUPPORTING- ]Patented Aug. 8, 11922.

Application filed J'uly 8, 1921. Serial No. 483,197.

To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, WILLIAM A. KNIFE,

l a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Haverhill, county of Essex, State of Massachusetts, have invented an limproyement in Innersoles for Arch-Supporting Shoes, of which the following is a specl- .Fig 3.

fication.

This invention relates to certain improvements in shoes which are provided with special means for supporting the arch of the foot, and more plarticularly to an arch supporting means vw ich is incorporated in a shoe, as a part thereof, as distinguished from the type of arch supports which are adapted to be inserted and removed Land which necessarily decrease the size of the shoe, so that a shoe, which is larger than would otherwise be. necessary, must ordinarily be worn.

vThe object of my invention is to provide a shoe with means, which is incorporated therein, as a part thereof, which will provide an effective-support for the arch portion of the foot, without decreasing the size of the shoe, which is adapted to permit adjustment of the arch supporting portion ac# cording to the requirements of the wearer, and which will enable the shoe upper to be held closely to the arch portion of the foot and will relieve the 'strain thereon, so that the upper will not become stretched out of shape after the shoe'has been worn`for a considerable period.

l accomplish this object in the manner hereinafter described and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 is a bottom plan view, partly broken away, of an inner `sole embodying my'invention.

Fig. 2 is across section at line 6-6 of ri 1.- I ig. 3 is a top plan view ofanother modi'- lied form of inner sole. i

Fig. 4 is a, cross section at line 8-48v of In the manufacture of a shoe embodying my invention, employ an inner sole which is constructed according to the method disclosed in my Patent #1,144,420, of June 29,

A,1915, in which a double layer of canvas is attached to the under, 1 or-'outer side of a? leather innerv sole by stitches which vare 1ocated at a predetermined distance from the sole-edge, so that the edgeportion of the canvas may be turned up to the stitches,

throughout its entire shank portion, the

outline of said extension being made to correspond approximately to the outline of the arch-portion of the normal human foot, and said extension being skived to a thin edge. v

rlFhe canvas layers c are attached. to the under side of the inner sole by a row of stitches d, up to which the edge portion of the canvas is turned, to form the lip c', to which the welt and 4upper are attached'in the usual manner.

ln order that the extension may more effectively perform its'function as an archsupport, the inner line of stitches d', through theshank portion, is curved inward to a greater extent than is customary, so that the shank portion of the shoe'is no wider than" the corresponding portion of the normal human foot, andthe surface of the extension a may be considered asbeginning approximately at the inner edge of the shank, withwhich the -line of the stitches d correspond, as indicated inthe drawing.

Before, however, the operation of attaching the Canvas sections is performed, a reinforcing section g is arranged between the canvas layer c and the leather sole seotion a, said reinforcing section being preferably formed of relatively stiftl soleleather, as comparedwith that of which the sole-section a is formed, and being extended transversely ofthe latter throughouter edge, approximately at the lines of the heel breast and the ball respectively, as shown in Fig. 1,. Said section g is termi- HBO ' the entire arch portion` of the foot, and.

nated at its inner edge at a `short distance from the edge of the arch-engaging extension a', the front, rear and inner side edge portions each being'skived down to a thin edge, so that there will not be any abrupt shoulders formed in the sole section a, and, as the extensiona is also skived to a thin edge, when the inner sole is incorporated in the shoe the outline of the extension and the portion of the reinforcing section beneath it, will not be defined through theI upper.

The section g is placed in position between the canvas and the solesection a before they are stitched together, so that the stitches d pass through the section g also, and hold it securely in position. In practice the section g is adhesivelyconnected to the section a before the st-itching operation is performed, so that it will be held in positlon while the canvas is placed in position on the sole and during the stitching operation permitting 'these' operations lto be as readily performed as if the section g were not present.

The inner sole will thus be stiifened throughout its entire arch engaging portion without'in any way stiifening the portions of the shoe which are bent in walking.

The shoe is manufactured in the customary manner, and, when finished, the soleextension a and reinforcing section g will be moulded by the last to fit closely against will lie against the inner surface-of the adjacent portion of-"tlie upper. As the extension will be vpermanently shaped t`o fit closely against the arch and will. be sup- -ported in this position by'` the reinforcing section g, it will act to support the arch to some extent, and, to this extent, will relieve the pressure on the shoe upper when the latter is vdrawn u'p against it by the lacing, or other fastener. Moreover the extension will afford a better distribution of the strain on the upper, in case the outward pressure of the foot against the extension 1s greater at one point than at another. The extension a and reinforcing section g are not attached to the upper, except through the lip c so that an open pocket is formed between the same and the adjacent Vportion of the upper against which they normally lie, and in case it is desired that the arch of the foot be supported t to a greater extent than it would be with the extension and reinforce alone, a suitably shaped stijf metal plate, piece of felt, or some other suitable substance may be inserted in the pocket, thus formed, so that, when the upper is drawn up by the lacing, the inserted substance will be pressed upward and inward against the reinforcing sect1on, causing a correspondingly increased pressure against the arch of the foot.

. my invention.

It is to be noted, in this connection, that it is important that the stitches which determine the position of the lip, to which the upper and welt are attached, at the inner side of the shank, be loca-ted at approximately the line from which the arch portion of the human foot extends upward, or the inner outline of the shank, so that, when the upper is laced in position, the extension a will be held up against the entire arch portion, and, when the inserted plate, or felt, is employed, it may assist in pressing the arch portion of the foot upward from its lowest portion, so

that the entire arch portion of the foot may v be effectively supported.

An adjustable arch support may thus be incorporated inthe shoe, as a permanent vpart thereof, without substantial additional expense, as compared with a shoe having an inserted support, so that it will be securely held in position therein, and, at the same time, may be adjusted and readjusted practically as effectively as if it were removable. Also, the size of the shoe will not be reduced, to the extent that it would be with an insertable support.

If it should be desiredto make the archengaging extension separate from the sole portion, the reinforcing piece 'mayi' be employed to connect the same so that their surfaces will be continuous, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4.

In constructing the inner-sole in this manner, a sole section L of ordinary form and an extension piece i are provided, the latterbeing shaped to fit closely the inner shank edge `of the sole.

same shape -as the piece g, will be provided, and similarly arranged and connected to the extension piece by arow'of stitchesjc, and also, preferably, by an adhesive. Inaddition to the stitches for connecting the canvas under section to thesole, which, in this instance, also, will pass through the reinforcing piece, the latter may also be attached to the sole adjacent its inner shank edge by another row of stitches between the stitches d and c, asshown in Fig. 8. j

This construction is not thought to be as desirable as the form previously described but is considered to be within the scope of I claim: v

1. An inner sole for welt shoes, comprising a bottom section having a downturned edge forming a lip to which the upper and we t are attached, a top section forming the interior covering for the shoe bottom, and a re-enforcing section disposed between said top and bottom sections at the shank portion A reinforcing piece j', of the thereof, said top and re-enforcing sections each being continuously extended transversely to a thin ledgeto form an arch-supporting portion, and said re-enforcing sectionbeing skived to a thin edge at its front and rear endg, and means for connecting al1 of said sections consisting of al row of stitches which pass there through from top to bottom at the base of said lip.

2. An inner sole for Welt shoes, comprising a. bottom section having a downturned edge forming a lip to which the upper and Welt are. attached, a. top section forming the interior covering for the shoe bottom and a re-enforcing section disposed between said top and bottom sections at the shank portion thereof, With its outer side-edge coincident with the outer .side edge of the top section, and al1 of said sections being continuously extended transversely to a thin edge, to form an arch-supporting portion and the frontand rear ends of said reenforcing section being skived to a thin edge,` and. means for connecting said sections consisting of a row of stitches which pass therethrough from top to bottom at the base of said lip.

3. An inner sole for weltshoes, comprising Va bottom section having a downturned edge forming a lip to which the upper and welt are attached, a top section forming the interior covering for the shoe bottom, and a refenforcing section disposed between said top and bottom sections at the shank portion thereof, said top and re-enfo'rcing sections each being continuously extended transverse- 1y to a thin edge to form an arch-supporting port-ion, which lies against the shoe upper and is disconnected therefrom to provide a, pocket between the upper and said supporting portions adapted to receive an auxiliary supporting means, and means for connecting al1 of said sections consisting of a row of stitches which pass therethrough from top to bottom at the base of said lip.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification.

WILLXAM A. KNPE. 

